


someone will be falling next

by blindmadness



Series: Bridgerton College AU [2]
Category: Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: (between Anthony and Edwina not Anthony and Kate), Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 05:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5485514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindmadness/pseuds/blindmadness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate Sheffield wants Anthony Bridgerton to stop dating her sister. Shockingly enough, he is not a fan of this idea. (A Bridgerton college AU.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	someone will be falling next

**Author's Note:**

  * For [panpipe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/panpipe/gifts).



> Welcome to #2 of my grand losing-my-mind Bridgerton college AU adventure! I hope you enjoy it, dear recipient, and once again I am so grateful for the chance to play around in this AU, so thank you so much for prompting it. <3
> 
> This one had me in a bit of a dilemma as to whether Kate's problem with Anthony and Edwina would be the professional encroaching on the personal (e.g., "you're dating and you're in the same academic field, this could hurt her career") or vice versa (e.g., "she's your graduate assistant, so you better not make any moves on her"); I went with the former, but I think it could have worked either way. I didn't realize until about halfway in that this was entirely Anthony's POV (whereas the mirror canon scene is mostly Kate's), so it ended up being a really fun perspective flip. There's a lot more that could be changed with this particular AU and it's interesting to think about how it would diverge from canon! (I also decided that there was no way in hell modern Edwina would actually go by her full name.)
> 
> Age difference between Kate and Anthony has been adjusted; she's 21-almost-22 and he's 27-28. Some lines are taken from the original book, but mostly modernized when they do appear. Title is from Suzanne Vega's, "When Heroes Go Down," from Julia Quinn's book playlist (she says it sounds like a "fabulous battle of wills," and what could be more appropriate?).

“Mr. Bridgerton?”

Anthony looks up from his book to see a young woman standing in the doorway to his office. He doesn’t recognize her, but it’s early in the semester; he hasn’t quite learned all of his students’ faces yet, or (possibly more accurately, judging by her age) the faces in the new graduate cohort.

“Anthony, please,” he says anyway, closing the book and turning his usual pleasant, professional smile onto the woman. She’s pretty enough, dark-haired, dark-eyed, and dressed conservatively but well, her expression polite. “What can I do for you, Miss—”

“Sheffield,” the woman says, shooting him her own pleasant smile as she steps inside. “Miss Kate Sheffield. Do you have a minute— _Anthony?”_

She closes the door behind her without waiting for his response, the smile still on her face. It’s looking a little frozen, though, and that particular nuance of her expression, along with her authoritative gesture, is what makes it click for Anthony, even more than her last name. 

Sheffield. Kate Sheffield. As in—Winnie’s sister. Winnie’s older, extremely overprotective sister. Who hates him.

Anthony’s only been dating Winnie for a few weeks, certainly not long enough to meet any member of her family. She’d shown him a picture of Kate, but it had been in a Halloween costume—no chance he would have recognized her. And she doesn’t look anything like Winnie, who’s petite, blonde and blue-eyed, and stunningly beautiful. Kate’s pretty enough, but in a more ordinary way, with completely different coloring, a much taller stature, and bolder features. Features that have, by now, lost all semblance of politeness.

“I do,” Anthony says after a moment, folding his arms across his book, keeping both his expression and tone excessively formal. “Have a minute, that is. It’s wonderful to meet you at last, Miss Sheffield.”

Kate scowls at him, and Anthony tries not to feel too pleased with himself. He’d hoped using her last name would remind her of the difference in their stations—he’s ABD and on the job market, she’s a second-year master’s student, if he remembers what Winnie’s told him about her correctly. Just because she goes to a different school doesn’t mean she should feel comfortable being rude to him, especially when she sought him out at his office.

Kate Sheffield obviously doesn’t care about that, though, judging from the expression on her face. “Winnie’s told me so much about you,” he continues, still deliberately polite, just to be contrary. “I feel like I know you already. You’re as lovely as your sister.”

Anthony regrets the words the second they’re out of his mouth—a meaningless courtesy, but clearly a lie, and _not_ the best start to have with his girlfriend’s sister. Kate’s eyes go huge, then narrow to slits as she glares harder. Hastily, Anthony says, “What is it you need, Miss Sheffield?”

Kate’s voice sounds like it’s causing her an effort with every word as she grits out from between her teeth, “What I _need_ is for you to stop dating my sister.”

Anthony lets silence follow that highly unsurprising statement, for long enough that Kate’s expression begins to shift to an even more profound annoyance—then he nods, and says, blandly, “Anything else?”

Kate opens her mouth, then closes it, narrowing her eyes at him again. Suspicion colors her tone as she says, “What do you mean?”

“Is there anything else you wanted from me?” Anthony clarifies, each word carefully drawn out. He’s a little surprised by how much fun he’s having with this. Knowing Winnie’s sister was antagonistic towards their relationship, he was expecting to have to win her over, not bait her from irritation to true anger. But he’s finding he can’t help himself. Maybe it’s pride—he’s a successful businessman on his way to a PhD; who wouldn’t want him dating their sibling? Maybe it’s a sense of mutual antagonism, instinctively disliking someone who dislikes him.

Maybe it’s just anger, plain and simple. Who does she think she is, assuming—without knowing anything about him, without meeting him—that he isn’t the right man for Winnie? How presumptuous of her, how beyond rude. Anyone, he thinks, would be angry; anyone would want to live down rather than up to expectations like that.

Whatever it is, he’s barely able to stifle his grin as Kate asks, slowly, “That’s it?” And he can’t help enjoying himself immensely as he replies, watching the shift in Kate’s expression, “That’s it, Miss Sheffield. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some reading to finish and a lecture to prepare if I’m going to be on time for my date with Winnie tonight.”

He turns away from her for a moment, and he must be a much worse person than he believed himself to be, because he thinks he can actually hear her blood pressure rising and he _loves_ it. “What do you mean?” she finally repeats, her voice a little unsteady.

Anthony fixes a perfectly cordial smile on his face when he turns back to Kate, noting that her hands are clenched into fists. Oh, he really, _really_ shouldn’t do this. Winnie adores her sister and trusts her opinion; it’s possible that Kate could actually convince Winnie to break up with him. But he’s having too much fun as he says, idly, “I mean I have a lot of work to do, so if you don’t mind—?”

“You said—” She’s spluttering a little now, her hands clenching tighter. “You said—I said I needed you to stop dating Winnie, and you said—”

“I never said I _would._ That was just exactly what I’d expected you to say.” Anthony can’t resist a grin at the further, now wordless splutters emerging from Kate, and he figures it’s time to end this and talk straight. “Miss Sheffield—Kate. May I call you Kate?”

She glares at him hard enough to burn a hole clean through his head, but she doesn’t say no.

“Fine.” Anthony’s still far too amused, but this is a moment that requires more serious conversation. “Do you want to sit down? No? All right. Now, would you like to tell me why you hate me?”

Surprise slackens Kate’s expression, and she blinks a few times—her brown eyes are wide, Anthony notices idly, and her lashes long—before responding, slowly, “Why—what?”

“Why you hate me,” Anthony repeats. “I didn’t think it would be a hard question. In fact, it seems like it would be a topic you’d genuinely enjoy.”

Something that’s almost amusement flickers across Kate’s face: a slight softening around her eyes, a little quirk at the corner of her lips. It makes Anthony think that maybe, under different circumstances, they might have gotten along.

Her expression melts, after a moment, into something different, something a little more thoughtful. Anthony isn’t sure he likes it. “That’s an interesting question,” she murmurs, as if she’s looking at Anthony and isn’t really sure what she’s seeing anymore. “Not why I don’t want you to date Winnie, but why I hate you.”

Anthony shrugs, dismissive. The truth is that he’s pretty sure they’re essentially the same question, only one would have been what Kate was expecting and one would have taken her by surprise. He doesn’t think that would receive a great response, though.

“I don’t hate you,” Kate says, finally, looking him in the eye with a directness Anthony finds he appreciates. “But I don’t think it would be possible for me to like you.”

Anthony appreciates her honesty, too, and were she anyone else, he would tell her that. He thinks it might be showing on his face, either way. “Why?”

“Honestly?”

Anthony feels the corner of his mouth lift, wry. “Have you been anything but so far?”

He’s answered by a reluctant quirk of Kate’s own mouth, a weird moment of connection between them. “You’re not the sort of person I want my sister dating.”

Anthony affects surprise, extending a hand to tick off traits as he says them. “Intelligent? Successful? Accomplished? Handsome?”

“Manipulative,” Kate shoots back without missing a beat. “Predatory. Rude.”

“Winnie is an adult,” Anthony says, dropping all pretense of mockery, just for a moment. “She can make her own decisions, can’t she?”

“Of course she can,” Kate snaps. “Don’t try to pretend you respect her autonomy more than I do. Winnie’s smart—so smart—but she’s eighteen. She’s impressionable. She doesn’t know a lot about the way the world works yet.”

Anthony nods, trying to keep his expression very serious. “Right. She’s lucky that she has you to teach her. How old are you, Kate—twenty-two?”

Her expression sours. “Twenty-one,” she bites off, her hands clenching into loose fists again.

Anthony can _feel_ the smirk wanting to emerge onto his face. “Right. But an expert on relationships and what they require—being a long-term one yourself?”

Kate glares at him, and when she speaks again, it’s low and through her teeth. “Don’t try to distract me. Just because I’m single doesn’t mean I don’t recognize that Winnie’s inexperience is what you _like_ about her.”

“That’s not true.” And it wasn’t, not really. True, that Winnie’s young and, despite her obvious intelligence, somewhat naïve about the way the world works contributes to Anthony’s being certain he’s not going to ever develop deeper feelings for her, a requirement for anyone he dates. It’s still not why he chose to ask her out in the first place, but considering the actual reason he did is that she’s incredibly beautiful, he’s not about to offer that up to Kate and be called shallow on top of predatory.

Kate arches an eyebrow, disdainful. “You’re almost ten years older than she is. You own a business and you’re about to get your PhD. She spent most of her life living in a small town and just started college. You have absolutely nothing in common other than an interest in history.”

Anthony mirrors her gesture, graciously letting go of her referring to three years of intensive study and a dissertation proposal as an “interest.” “What’s your point, Kate?”

“My _point,”_ she grits out through her scowl, “is that I wouldn’t be comfortable with you dating Winnie even if it was just the age difference, even if it was just knowing your reputation with women and her inexperience. But you’re a published scholar in the field she wants to work in. You being personally involved could hurt her professional reputation.”

“We’re not at the same institution,” Anthony points out. “If she never comes here, there wouldn’t be any cause for concern.”

“And what about when you go somewhere else to teach?” Kate snaps. “And you really mean to tell me you don’t know anyone else in the field—that you couldn’t put a good word in for her somewhere else? That it wouldn’t get out that she only got her advantages in the field because she fucked you?”

Anthony doesn’t respond, mostly because she’s right.

The silence between them stretches for a moment, then Kate purses her lips, her gaze still steely. “I don’t like you,” she says, “and I don’t like you dating my sister. I intend to tell her that, and to try to convince her not to see you anymore. But first I’m going to give you a chance to prove that you’re a good person who does the right thing and ask you, now, to stop dating her.”

The offer is clearly something that’s taken her a lot of effort to extend. Anthony should respect that; he should tell her that he’s pretty sure nothing long-term is going to come from him dating Winnie, that he wants to get married soon—before he runs out of time—and that someone as young as Winnie, who has dreams of an academic career, isn’t a great candidate for that. He should tell her that while he and Winnie are having fun, it’s clearly a relationship with an expiration date. He should tell her that regardless of what she’s heard about his reputation with women (which is mostly true), he is first and foremost a professional who would never let so much as a whisper of anything untoward about Winnie cross the ears of anyone in the field.

But Kate Sheffield has annoyed the hell out of him from the minute she entered his office, and so instead he aims a slow, lazy grin at her, and he says, “You’ve made a lot of assumptions about me in that one statement, Kate Sheffield.”

And as her jaw drops at his obvious condescension, he counts the points off on his fingers again. “First, the obvious—that I’m a good person who cares about doing the right thing. Second, that I’m the type of person who’s going to take kindly to being lectured and dictated to about my relationship by my girlfriend’s sister. And finally, that I’m going to care at all about anyone’s opinions or desires about my relationship if they are not my girlfriend. If Winnie doesn’t want to date me anymore, she can feel free to tell me. But I want to hear it from her, and—” he pauses to grin wider, slow and deliberate “—I really, really doubt she’s going to.”

Kate lets out a little snorting sound that can only be described as a _scoff._ “Are you trying to tell me that that’s exactly how irresistible you are to women?”

Anthony gets to his feet and leans in, even so slightly, pleased to see Kate’s eyes widening as he does. He doesn’t say anything in response, just arches an eyebrow, slow and deliberate.

Kate’s eyes go a little wider, then narrow as she leans in herself—just enough to stomp on Anthony’s foot. Hard.

He falls back, biting back a muffled curse, and she glares at him. “This isn’t over,” she snaps before striding from his office.


End file.
